Pick Me Up When I Fall
by ThnksFrThMmrs87
Summary: Tragedy strikes for Emily, and it brings to light a love that no one ever expected


Note From The Author-- I'm not sure where this came from, I just had to write it down. I hope you enjoy

Disclaimer-- I don't own the characters of Criminal Minds

"It's not going to kill you if I don't come tonight."

Morgan smiled. "But it'll make things less interesting; and the rest of us will spend the rest of the night wondering why it was that Emily Prentiss just didn't want to come." His voice turned to mock worry. "Was it something we said?"

Emily couldn't help it, she laughed. "Why does this matter so much again?" she asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Everyone's going to be there. We even talked Hotch and Rossi into coming."

One immaculate eyebrow arched at that. "Hotch?"

"Amazing isn't it? Yet another reason you should come. This may be the only time we ever get Hotch out of a suit in the next year. You really want to miss that?" he asked with a grin.

Her phone rang before she could answer. "Emily Prentiss. Hello mother, just one second." She rested the phone on her shoulder and looked back over at Derek. "You win, I'll be there. Yes mother I'm here."

Derek couldn't have been happier that he was actually getting the entire team to loosen up and head out to the bar together. Granted it wasn't the most rocking bar he'd ever been too, but they were all going and that was all that counted. He refocused, ready to joke with Reid about wearing something that didn't make him look twelve, and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Emily.

She was ghostly pale, her eyes wide and shocked. The hand that wasn't on the phone was gripping the arm of her chair so hard she was leaving marks, and she had gone absolutely still.

"Is she okay?" Reid asked as he and JJ stepped up next to Morgan.

"I don't think so."

Emily nodded once, and when she spoke her voice was quiet. "I'll be there as soon as I can." It wasn't five seconds after she hung up that she was up on her feet and gathering her things.

"Is everything okay" JJ questioned.

She shook her head. "No, I need to get to my mother's."

"What's up Emily?" Derek asked.

Again she shook her head. "It's just…. She's ill and she won't tell me what's…"

"It's okay Em, just go," JJ urged.

"Thank you. Tell Hotch."

From hang up to exit she only took somewhere in the neighborhood of two minutes to get out of the bullpen. They all watched as she left, wondering how bad this news had to be if it had spooked her that badly. JJ for her part was thankful that they didn't have a case, and after a glance shared with Reid and Morgan she headed up to Hotch's office to tell him what had happened.

Three hours later Morgan was getting seriously worried. No one had heard so much as a word from Emily since she had blown out like a twister. The fact that she had been so distressed when she left put him completely on edge, and that she hadn't been answering her phone or replying to text messages just made it worse. Emily was a good friend, and he hated not knowing what to do to help her or even find her.

"You haven't heard from her either?" Hotch asked. He had taken a rare trip down to the bull pen several times that day.

Morgan shook his head. "She won't answer her phone and we've all tried."

"I don't know that there's anything we can do. I tried her mother but they've taken the phones off the hook. Whatever is going on it's big, and I'm guessing it's bad."

Reid spoke up then. "I'm sure she'll call us when she knows anything."

"I hope so." Morgan could hope, but he wasn't counting on it.

They hit four hours without a peep. It was getting close to quitting time, and everyone who had been drifting in and out all day long had pretty much disappeared to finish up what they needed to. Derek was left alone in the bullpen staring at his phone. Emily had turned it off hours before, but it was getting late and he couldn't leave it alone. He picked up the phone one last time, hoping that by some miracle he would be able to get through.

"Prentiss," she answered quietly.

The tone set off the warning bells, not only because of the pain he could hear but because it sounded as if she'd been crying. It took a lot to make Emily Prentiss cry. "Emily, what's going on?"

"I… it's my mother. She's dying." She sounded like a lost child.

"God." His eyes closed briefly as he imagined how she must be feeling. "What can I do?"

There was a pause before she spoke. "It sounds so stupid, but I'm not sure I can drive. I started to drive away and I was shaking so bad…"

He was already on his feet, scribbling a note to the others and sticking it up on his computer screen. "Where are you?"

The traffic was hell, and it took longer to get to her than he had hoped. It took a while, but Morgan finally got to the gas station she had described. Spotting her car in one of the stalls he pulled up next to her and climbed out of his car, crossing in front to get to her door.

Emily opened the door on her own, her bag and keys in her arm. "Can we just take your car?" she asked. "I can get mine later, I just…"

"Don't worry about it. I'll grab Garcia later and we'll work it out." He pulled her into his side, slinging his arm over her shoulder. "Let's just get you home."

The ride to her place was absolutely silent save for the occasional ragged intake of breath along with her constant tears. When he pulled up to her building he gave her a shoulder to lean on again, and she took it willingly. They had barely made it through the door when she collapsed on the couch, curling into herself.

Derek took a seat on the coffee table. He didn't push anything; he knew better than anyone else that she wouldn't talk about it until she was ready. But as he watched the tears fall from her eyes as she stared blankly into space he knew he had to do something.

"What can I do?" he asked gently.

She looked up at him, and the hesitation he saw in her eyes threw him for a bit of a loop. There was clearly a struggle going on in her mind, but she evidently decided she didn't give a damn. The words that came out of her mouth next threw him completely for a loop. "Find Hotch?"

Shocked was an understatement. "I'll call him." It was the only thing he could think to say. What the hell had he missed here?

"Thank you," she told him, finally letting her eyes close.

Morgan made the call. He explained everything he could to Hotch based on his limited knowledge, and the number of questions he had only increased when he heard the intense worry in his superior's voice. When he went to check on Emily it was clear that the storm of emotions had left her completely spent; she was fast asleep. With no other real options, he left her to sleep, took a seat at the kitchen counter and waited.

Aaron made it there in twenty minutes. It should have taken closer to thirty, but driving like a maniac tended to get you where you were going a bit quicker. He let himself in and wasn't surprised to see Derek still sitting at the counter. The latter was a little surprised to see his boss open the door with a key, but then he'd already come to the conclusion that evidently he didn't know a damn thing about Emily or Hotch.

"How is she?" Aaron asked.

"I don't know Hotch. She hasn't wanted to talk about it, I haven't pushed it. She's been asleep."

He nodded and crossed the room without saying another word. Careful not to jostle her too much, he sat down on the edge of the couch at her hip and ran a hand over her hair. Evidently she hadn't been sleeping that deeply because her eyes fluttered open at his touch. It took a moment for her to focus, but when she saw him above her she felt tears prick at her eyes again.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Hey." She tried to hold it all back and found it impossible. "Aaron," she whispered, her voice cracking as tears overtook her again.

His hand brushed over her cheek, trying in vain to soothe her aching heart. Everything but her disappeared and Morgan might as well have gone with it. "What happened?"

Emily sat up before she told him; laying down to it only reminded her that she was helpless to stop what was happening. She took a deep breath before she spoke. The tears she couldn't seem to stop, but at least she could make sure he could understand what she was saying. "When my mother called this afternoon she didn't tell me much. She just said that she was very ill and that she needed to speak to me immediately."

"Take your time," he told her. He reached out to lace their fingers together.

"I got there as fast as I could. She was so deadly calm, it threw me off balance. Typical ambassador Prentiss," she said, not completely able to erase a hint of bitterness from her voice. "Emily, I've been battling cancer for a few months now. I didn't want to worry you, so I simply went ahead with the treatments. I've exhausted all of the options, and nothing has been effective. They've given me three months."

Hotch could feel her trembling and he stroked his thumb along her hand. "I'm so sorry."

She nodded. "I asked if there was anything I could do, I didn't know what else to say. She just told me not to worry myself, that she had put everything in order and I…" She cut off, a sob breaking through.

"Just breathe," he soothed.

"She said that she's put everything in order and that I wouldn't have to worry about the funeral."

"Oh sweetheart."

Her hand tightened around his convulsively and it was obvious that she'd hit the breaking point. She couldn't stop another heartbroken sob, and as the dam broke she fell into his arms. Hotch wrapped her in his arms, rocking gently as she let it all go.

She knew she had to get it all out now or she'd never be able to face it. "I said I would take some time off to spend time with her and do you know what she told me? She said that she didn't want to inconvenience me, but that she'd like to get the whole family together one last time," she sobbed against his chest.

"She's just scared Emily," he told her. "She's scared and she doesn't know how to deal with this."

"I know, but she's been dealing with this for months without telling me. Five more months I could have had with my mother are just gone."

Aaron stroked his hand through her hair, still rocking her. "I know, and you'll never get that back. Take whatever time you have left now."

"How?" she asked. "How do I take the time I have when she tells me I needn't worry about any of it?"

He pulled back so he could look into her eyes, cradling her face gently in his hands. "You talk to her," he said. "You tell her that you know she's scared, and that she doesn't know how to do this; neither do you. You explain to her how you feel and tell her that you want all the time you have left with your mother."

"You make it sound so easy," she told him.

"It won't be. I'm sure she's terrified, and the two of you have had a rocky relationship at best. She doesn't know how to deal with this any more than you do."

She nodded. "You're right, I know you're right. My mother Aaron," she whispered.

He pulled her into his arms again and she curled into him, resting her head over his heart. He held her as she gave into the tears and the aching, and when she drifted off again in the wake of her emotions he lowered them both gently to the couch, settling her in against his chest. Brushing a kiss against her hair he closed his eyes for what he knew could be a long night. It didn't matter; all that mattered was that he would be there for her.

Both Emily and Hotch had completely forgotten about Morgan. He was still sitting at the kitchen counter, but now he was positively shell shocked. It was clear from the way they held each other and spoke to each other that they had been together for a long time. Since Hotch and Hailey had gotten a divorce two years before Morgan had assumed that his boss had been seeing people, but he never would have guessed in a million years that he and Emily were together. If he were to make an educated guess he'd say they'd been together at least a year, and it was incredibly clear that they were completely head over heels in love with each other.

Hotch's mere presence had made her open up, and it was exactly what she needed. Derek's heart ached for her, and he couldn't imagine being in her position. Still, Hotch seemed to know exactly what to do for her, and in the end that was all that really mattered.

With a smile for the couple on the couch, he headed for the door. He'd call Garcia on the way and let her know what had happened, leaving Hotch out of it for the moment. Once his baby girl knew it was a guarantee that the rest of the team would know by the morning; that was what he loved about her.

As he left Hotch and Emily to sleep in each others' arms Derek couldn't help but think about everything that his friends had to face, not only with her mother but also when they were playing with FBI fire. Yet almost as soon as the thought entered his mind it was gone. For some reason he had a feeling they would get through it. Together.


End file.
